


WANT.

by tazwritess (orphan_account)



Series: Mixed and In-Between [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Eventual Keith/Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Keith & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, M/M, Magic, Mentioned Matt Holt, Mentioned Sam Holt, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Plants, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Self-Discovery, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Keith/Lance (Voltron), Teamwork, They heal? basically, but i gotta put some plot and action, it'll happen, kind of, klance, maybe as a series, rating might change later idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 16:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20117764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/tazwritess
Summary: Dealing with an enlarged Totoa sprout while trying to focus your powers into the simulation of earth-based soil wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Pidge had studied different species of plant while researching alien cultures before, so the monster wasn’t as new to her as it was to her other teammates, but it was still almost impossible to fight it off. She needed it distracted, and Hunk was terrible at it, screaming ‘Oh, god, help!’ every 5 seconds. Shiro was in the back, fighting off more of the skeleton minions around them before they could reach.'Maybe they should’ve switched roles', Pidge rolled her eyes as Hunk screamed once again.orAfter Keith and Lance get disqualified for breaking the rules of the trial, Pidge discovers something new about the simulation during her fight against the new enemies with Hunk and Shiro.





	WANT.

Team Voltron had already come a long way from where they all started off months back. It was only natural that the process would leave them confused, scared, and vulnerable; they were all practically strangers. Keith thought back to the first few times they drew into battle, the times they all had to wake up early and in uniform to train. Lance was always sleeping in, his headphones drowning out any intruding sound, Pidge slumping over groggily from staying up all night on her computer, Hunk would still be in his pajamas, and Keith himself in his normal attire. It was always Shiro who came prepared, and now they all seemed to catch on--it was an instinct now. Training came to them so smoothly, each person prepared to protect their teammates over anything, at all costs.    
  
_ That’s right,  _ Keith exhaled,  _ we’re a team.  _ __   
__   
That was something that changed as well. This was his family now, and he’d grown too close to all of them to ever let them fall in the hands of danger. They all huffed from the exertion of the morning’s training session, and Keith locked eyes with Lance. Something inside of him burned.    
  
“Keith, honestly, that was pretty badass.” Lance lit up.   
  
Pidge stepped in right after, Hunk gaping at him with the same awe. “Yeah, that new sword thingy you just did? The Galra don’t stand a chance against your swordsmanship! I have to research more about these bayard things, they must be advancing the more we practice…”    
  
“Not bad yourself,  _ sharpshooter. _ ” Keith dispersed his flush, unflinching, praising his teammates instead to wear it off. “We need someone like you to have our backs at all times, you know.”   
  
Lance visibly flustered at this, eyes wide, and Pidge eyed them both suspiciously. Hunk must’ve noticed something too, as his eyebrows raised at her in their silent discussion. Lance and Keith  __ never  complimented each other like this. She pondered on it more, deciding that it was probably something to do with their recent mission to Aganthia.    
  
“A magic spell, maybe.” She muttered quietly.    
  
Before Hunk could nudge her and ask what could possibly be up, Allura’s voice over the intercom raised all of their heads. “Paladins. We are entering an older section of the galaxy; a hidden area in which my father allied with the more secretive bunch. They are not strong, and they keep themselves hidden in the shadows of their planet.” She paused. “I don’t want any of you guys to be separated--you must stay together as a team, no one going off on their own.”   
  
Everyone looked at Keith, accusingly.   
  
“I need you all to head to the place now marked on your maps. It is a planet inhabited by the Corcus, a species of ocean dwellers. Lance, I believe your lion will best prove navigation here? We must gain an alliance with the Corcus, so do your best to be calm and welcoming. Now, go on.”   
  


The team all stood and stared at one another. They were still a mess from training, all bruised up and sweaty. Sighing in unison, everyone rushed down to their lions, quick to depart and head towards the oceanic planet. 

“Lance,” Shiro voiced over their radios, “we’re counting on your leadership here; Blue should be able to lead us through for the most part, but you both are still more capable in the water. You got this.”   
  
“-and be careful.” Keith cut in, frowning.    
  
Pidge huffed at this. Something was definitely up.   
  
With a grin, Lance took the lead. The way Shiro emphasized that he  _ and  _ Blue were the most capable was a boost in his confidence. Keith hoped it wasn’t going to his head too much-- they still needed to be careful. “Don’t worry guys, I know what to do.”    
  
From there, he and Blue entered the area, navigating through the water immediately with ease and swam further up the stream it created, seeking out Allura’s instructions. She mentioned that there would be a temple to the south of the brine pool down the middle and that they would have to go through a trial upon entry. They were weak as a civilization, so it should’ve been fairly easy.   
  
It wasn’t.   
  
As soon as everyone exited their lions, the trial commenced. The sound of banging drums vibrated through the ocean and a wave of heavy words entered each of their radios, a sound they didn’t recognize.   
  
“Paladins of Voltron. You have entered our shrine, and now you must face the trials we are offering. You cannot take your weapons or armor with you, and you must fend for yourselves. If you pass each level, we will greet you. This is our promise.” 

Lance thought back to what Allura had told him in private. They had to comply to whatever these people wished of them. He looked at Keith, knowing the guy wasn’t going to give up any of his advantages just because some temple voice told him to. He cast his gaze to Shiro instead, who nodded approvingly.    
  
_ You got this.  _ __   
__   
That’s right, he had to lead them this time. “Okay guys, remember. Allura’s dad went through this with the previous paladins, too. What could be so hard?”   
  
_ So much for leadership.  _ He cringed internally.   
  
Shiro spoke up in his stead. “Lance is right, let’s just follow their instructions. Allura knows what she’s doing, and she’s counting on us.” Keith only seemed like he was getting angrier by the minute. “And Keith, it’s fine. As long as we stick  _ together. _ ”   
  
No one said anything to that, staring knowingly.   
  
“Fine.” He growled, dropping his armor in the next second.   
  
They all knew he still had his blade hidden somewhere, but no one was going to mention it. It wasn’t right to  _ completely  _ trust anyone, and they could always pretend they had no idea that he had such a thing. Soon, everyone’s armor was off and Lance was stepping forward first, entering the tall, golden and moss-infected doors. They opened compliantly in response, the other paladins following in his stead.    
  
__ Oh god, not another simulation.  Lance and Keith thought simultaneously. 

They were surrounded by a forest, trees even taller than the doors they’d just entered and grass flowing gently across the canvas of flooring. There was a pond to their far right, near the middle of the room, and another tree sat beside it, a ladder attached. On the other side of the room, there were more doors similar to the ones by the entrance. A ladder wouldn’t be attached to giant trees in the middle of a forest simulation for no reason, and Lance shivered at the thought that there might be monsters hidden in the taller grass farther out. He faced his peers again and whispered.   
  
“Okay, let’s just go over there for now and climb up.”    
  
Pidge’s face was a mixture of  _ are you serious right now _ and pity. Lance thought to himself that he really, really wasn’t fit to be the leader of this team. Keith pat him on the shoulder knowingly and Shiro nodded.    
  
“Yeah, Lance!” Hunk’s eyes glinted. “Your plans are the best, dude.”   
  
He smiled at that, though he knew this was probably  _ stupid.  _ Soon they were all creeping to the pond, when something burst from the ground. Lance shrieked in surprise and jumped into Hunk’s returning, fearful embrace. A skeleton roared, dusting the dirt of itself, and cracked it’s neck at them. It was the most terrifying experience he’d ever had, and Lance would be surprised if he lived to tell the story.    
  
“Ohmygod, ohmygod, run!” Hunk flung his arms open, dashing out of the skeleton’s reach and clawing for the latter on the other side.    
  
“Wait, Hunk!”   
  
The warning was too late, as two more skeletons jumped from the ground in front of him. Lance shrieked again, and Keith pulled the blade from his trousers. At last, Shiro clapped a hand over his eyes. 

  
“About time.” Pidge rolled her eyes.  _ This team sucks.  _

Keith slashed his blade across it’s skull and Lance crushed it with one of the larger rocks he found. They grinned at each other, sharing a similar idea and following through to destroy the other skeletons creeping towards Hunk, trembling on the ground.    
  
There wasn’t any time for a victory dance, and the rumbling echo of drums pounded through their radios again. “Disqualified.”    
  
From underneath both Keith and Lance, a deep, dark hole formed and dropped them far below the earth. The rest of the team gasped in surprise, calling out to them as the ground closed back up. Lance thought to scream, holler, yell,  _ something,  _ but the rate at which he was falling took his breath away. His stomach was flipping out of control, and the wind literally knocked the air out of him and gave him butterflies in the worst way possible. How did he get himself in these crazy situations every time, and always with Keith?! Before they hit the ground, the simulation was over and both of them were back at the entrance of the temple.    
  
“Phew, that was the actual worst.” Lance gagged, panting on the ground.    
  
Keith nodded in agreement, heaving and gasping. “Hah, yeah… Honestly, I was gonna say that I don’t need you, but I actually do. Crap, we have to go back in there.”    
  
Even if Keith brushed off what he just said at first, Lance noticed it and attempted to hide his flush by wiping sweat from his forehead. He remembered the problem at hand. Their team was in there on their own, fighting who-knows-what by now. Keith eyed Lance secretively before said paladin nodded in agreement, and then they were both sneaking in- 

Until the voice roared loudly in their radios  _ again. _

“ _ Paladins. _ ” It was much more powerful now. “You have broken the rules. You must now face the ultimate challenge in order for all your teammates to pass.”    
  
A screen-vision appeared before them both, showing their other friends in a battle against some kind of forest monster. It was huge, vines tangling around its body and attacking them with vicious thorns. Lance gasped as one of the vines squeezed Pidge in its grasp, tight enough to leave scars. Keith was seething now.    
  
“What are you doing?!” He hollered. Lance snapped out of his horrified trance and pat him on the shoulder as some kind of reassurance. 

The blue paladin turned back to the screen, confidence glowing through his broad shoulders as he stood up with confidence. “Then we’ll do it.”   
  
“What?” Keith’s whisper was sharp.   
  
“We’ll do the extreme challenge or whatever it is.”   
  
His confidence was slowly faltering the more Keith stared at him, eyebrows coming together. If the monster they just saw was literally tearing their friends apart, then how much worse was this thing they were dragging each other into? Lance only began to think about it now that it was already too late, and Keith was starting to calm down. It was just like him to be up for the hardest mission. Lance groaned, and a new set of doors befell them.    
  
“Enter.”   
  
Keith listened to the voice this time and left his blade with Red. 

* * *

“Crap, Hunk!” Pidge screamed. 

  
Dealing with an enlarged Totoa sprout while trying to focus your powers into the simulation of earth-based soil wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Pidge had studied different species of plant while researching alien cultures before, so the monster wasn’t as new to her as it was to her other teammates, but it was still almost impossible to fight it off. She needed it distracted, and Hunk was terrible at it, screaming ‘Oh, god, help!’ every 5 seconds. Shiro was in the back, fighting off more of the skeleton minions around them before they could reach.    
  
_ Maybe they should’ve switched roles _ , Pidge rolled her eyes as Hunk screamed once again.    
  


She was already so distracted by the background noise that she didn’t notice when one of the monster’s vine-arms reached around her and pulled her into the air. Hunk’s eyes bulged when he heard her pained scream. Pidge knew already that this species grew weapon-like thorns throughout its body as a defense mechanism, but she never would’ve thought they’d be dealing with one this size and that it would attack them. The sprouts were usually versatile creatures, and they were small; around 3 ½ feet at least. She felt as the sharp edges cut into her skin, scratching against her bare arms and legs as the arm squeezed her tighter and tighter. Hunk attempted to attack the being with his fists, but a thorn went right through his left hand and left him screaming so painfully, it upset Pidge even more. Shiro was now sprinting to his side, viewing the damage for himself and allowing the smaller monsters to surround them. Pidge felt that she didn’t have any more time to writhe in pain, as glorious as that sounded. Through the burning of being cut into, she focused her thoughts into the source of these creatures. Nature was sacred.    
  
“Haa,” she breathed out and closed her eyes softly, imagining herself somewhere else; she was in a field, surrounded by tall, dark trees and rain. Insects, plants, and animals lived in harmony, surviving off a glistening, clear pond in the middle of the space. It was similar to the pond her and her teammates had encountered when first entering their fated simulation. She creeped her way towards it, keeping her guard down. It was smarter to be calm than anything else.    
  
“Katie,” an angelic voice called out to her, soft as snow and warm as honey, “you made it.”   
  
Her eyes widened when she saw the vision of her mother, standing tall at the base of the pond. She was wearing a silky, long and white dress, flowing perfectly down from her chest to her toes, stilled in the fresh water below. Her face, lips red and eyes hazel, was framed by the smooth, light-brown curls waving down past her shoulders. She looked younger than Pidge remembered.

“Mom?” She called out, almost scared. A part of her wasn’t sure if she was really seeing what she was seeing. 

Pidge hadn’t seen her mom since before they even left Earth. She was probably worried sick back there, not only her son and husband missing, but now her daughter too. A pang of guilt shot through Pidge’s heart at this and she flinched despite herself. The heavenly angel before her smiled gently back and extended her arm.    
  
“You have to focus on your teammates now. You can’t think about us  _ all _ the time.” Suddenly, her brother and dad were there too, beside her mother in the tiny pond. 

_ Focus.  _   
  
All she had to do was  _ focus.  _

When her eyes opened again, she saw Hunk hyperventilating and panicking at the wound gaping in his hand and Shiro trying to defend the both of them while trying to soothe him simultaneously. This wouldn’t do. Pidge felt something power through her again, and she focused on the source of it, deep in her brain. 

_ You have to focus on your teammates now. Focus. Focus, focus, focus.  _ __   
__   
Light surged through her as she kept her eyes closed and suddenly all she saw was a blinding white. She was falling, falling, falling-- and then she was in the pond they noticed the first time. The grass was cut shorter and the monsters were all gone. In front of her on the land was the original Totoa sprout, healthy in the sunlight. Pidge sighed in relief, finally, when Hunk and Shiro were sprinting back to her side in the water, the hole in Hunk’s hand before now gone. It was so intense just moments ago that she forgot this was just a simulation. 

“How- how did you  _ do  _ that?!” Hunk’s eyes were huge, glowing. He gathered both of her small, pale hands in his.    
  
“Thank god you two are both safe.” Shiro sighed.    
  
Pidge bit her lip. “Wait.”   
  
She felt worse when they both looked at her, expectantly and worried.    
  
“It’s not over yet.”   
  
Hunk raised his eyebrows, Shiro following soon after. “What does that-”   
  
“Well done, paladins. Now, go forth onto the next level.” The voice of the temple reached them. Hunk couldn’t even complain; his jaw went slack in shock first. Shiro kept his stare on Pidge, suspicious. She didn’t know either, but it was like the simulation was starting to give them powers. It must’ve been an advantage to them not having any weapons or armor. She finally looked down at her own body and felt relieved to see her skin good as it started, before there were blades cutting through her, at least. 

  
She stood up with Shiro, both of them helping Hunk soon after.   
  
“Okay, everyone,” Shiro took in another breath, “let’s do this.”   
  
The three of them made their way through the next set of golden doors, guards raised much higher than the last time they did this. Pidge looked back once more as they entered, remembering the looks of her family members. She would come back for them later, she swore to it. 

**Author's Note:**

> i will try to update this series more often, esp this part since i'm planning on more chapters.


End file.
